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May 03, 2024
 

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NATURAL SELECTIONS

JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
May 24, 2001
Bone collectors dig into our past
Two papers published today shed light on our early evolution, though "early" is a relative term. The first describes what could've been the first species of mammal, a tiny beast that quivered in the shadows of the dinosaurs 195 million years ago. The second reports on a shift in eating habits of early modern humans compared to Neanderthals about 25,000 years ago.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
May 17, 2001
Mimicry demonstrated to drive origin of species
One of the claims often made by opponents of the theory of evolution -- there are some still left, mainly in Kansas -- is that because natural selection is a phenomenon we can't directly observe, the theory is untenable. And while creationists insist that species are immutable despite a staggering amount of evidence that they do adapt and evolve, it is true that we can rarely see the origin of species in the field, and account for it with reference to natural selection. But that is precisely what biologists have now done.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
May 10, 2001
What's your cerebrotype?
In "The Prince," Machiavelli set out his manifesto of duplicity and deception. His name stands for cunning, for forming alliances with those in power. The theory of Machiavellian Intelligence proposes that with the advent of social interaction, the advantage gained by manipulating others was the driving force behind the evolution of the primate brain. The theory receives support today from a paper in Nature.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
May 3, 2001
Antlion symbiosis story to make Darwin smile
Antlions, insects resembling feeble, intoxicated dragonflies, flutter briefly in summer, hardly eating, only copulating, reproducing then dying. But their life as larvae is all about food. Living for two to three years at the bottom of a funnel-shaped pit/trap in the ground, the antlion larva waits with open jaws for a smaller insect to fall in, whereupon it paralyzes its prey and sucks out its vital juices.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Apr 26, 2001
Vaccine theory of HIV debunked
A tempest that has been raging in the outwardly dignified world of academia is set to die down with the publication today of three papers in Nature and one in Science. The story -- about the origin of AIDS -- is one of intrigue, mystery and death. Mostly, however, it is about death.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Apr 19, 2001
Intelligent elephant mamas never forget
Elephants form some of the most intimate social relationships seen outside primates. The female-led society provides a high level of care to its members: Little elephants are bathed and carried over obstacles, and mothers frequently touch their young with their trunks. If disturbed, calves and the matriarch leader are protected at the center of the herd.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Apr 12, 2001
Scientists find munchies has physiological basis
The anecdotes and folklore that filter out from the hazy world of cannabis users attest to the drug's stimulating effect on the appetite as well as on the brain. Now scientists have confirmed that the munchies has a physiological basis, establishing the first firm link between cannabinoids (chemicals that occur in cannabis and also naturally in the body) and the normal regulation of body weight.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Apr 5, 2001
Climate change blamed for Okinawa coral death
Scientists at the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa have published evidence showing that global climate changes in 1998 devastated coral reefs around Sesoko Island. The report, published in the April edition of the journal Ecology Letters, comes on the heels of George W. Bush's unilateral abandonment of the 1997 Kyoto treaty on climate change.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Mar 19, 2001
Earthlings, meet your parent
The four planets closest to the sun are siblings of a sort. Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars have similar core properties and densities, suggesting that they probably formed from the same dust cloud in the early solar system, but they have very different surfaces and atmospheres. Mercury is hot, has low gravity and almost no atmosphere, Venus is hot and dense, Mars is dry. Its average surface temperature is minus 55 C. Earth is the only planet covered with oceans.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Mar 5, 2001
Paleolithic technology and the boom in cultural evolution
About 300,000 years ago something happened that was unlike anything in the previous few billion years, something that would have ever-expanding repercussions.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Feb 19, 2001
Genome decoded: evolution, religion and what it all means
The publication of the human genome sequence has been compared to the detonation of the first atomic bomb and the landing of the first human on the moon.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Feb 5, 2001
Animals and nature's remedies
Michael Huffman of Kyoto University's Primate Research Institute was watching a group of wild chimpanzees in Western Tanzania in 1987 when he saw something that first puzzled and then astonished him. His subsequent work has changed how we think about animal feeding behavior and has important implications for human medicine.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jan 29, 2001
Toward the future of medicine
How alternative is alternative medicine these days?
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jan 15, 2001
The effect of hormones on fatherhood
It is usually thought that men share only symbolically, if at all, in the experience of pregnancy, but recent studies have shown that paternal males undergo changes in the same hormones as maternal females. The work promises to biologically verify the experiences of new fathers.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jan 1, 2001
Life? Martian meteorite keeps its cool
"X-Files," eat your heart out. Supporters of the theory that life on Earth was "seeded" by organisms from deep space got a boost recently, as analysis of the famous Martian meteorite ALH84001 indicated that it was transferred from Mars to Earth without being heated above 40 degrees Celsius. This relatively low temperature is not enough to sterilize bacteria or microorganisms. This means that Martian microorganisms, if present, could hitch a ride to Earth unscathed on similarly cool meteorites ejected from the Martian surface.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Dec 18, 2000
Sea cucumbers: radially different
Sea cucumbers.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Dec 4, 2000
Ants find inheritance tax high
The maximum rate of inheritance tax in Japan is 70 percent, more than many people can afford to pay: If they inherit, they have to sell off land and property to pay the tax.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Nov 20, 2000
No, really: morning sickness benefits mothers, babies alike
Most women would find it hard to believe that morning sickness -- vomiting and nausea during pregnancy -- is a good thing, but the evidence is growing that it helps protect the mother and her baby.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Nov 6, 2000
Sexual wounding, kicking and early death
Sex can sometimes be awkward in humans, and sometimes painful, but rarely do human females have to put up with what females of the bean weevil endure. The male's penis carries a formidable array of sharp spines which lacerate the female reproductive tract during copulation.
Weak yen fattens tourist wallets in Japan
People visit the Ameya Yokocho market in Tokyo's Ueno district during the Golden Week holiday on Tuesday.
Biden calls ally Japan ‘xenophobic’ along with rivals China and Russia
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in Syracuse, New York, on April 25.
Number of vacant homes in Japan hits record high of 9 million
A vacant house in Tokyo is seen demolished in January 2020.
Harajuku strives to reclaim its former glory — and surpass it
Laforet Harajuku, which celebrated its 45th anniversary last year, has been a witness to the district's evolution over the years.
Saudi Arabia steps up Gaza-related arrests as Israel ties edge closer
The arrests for Gaza-related posts indicate Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s regime will take a hard line against citizens not toeing the line when it comes to normalizing ties with Israel.
Kishida sets sights on energy and climate in South America trip
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will use a policy speech in Sao Paulo to set out his vision for ties between Japan and South America, almost 10 years after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated for stronger ties between the two in the same city.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.

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By Alex K.T. Martin

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